Walden

by Amy Berryman

FULL LENGTH: After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.

FULL LENGTH: After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.

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Walden

Recommended by

  • Mak Shealy: Walden

    Berryman's writing is sharp, filled with unexpected twists and turns and each character's humanity shimmers throughout the play. With every nuanced complication and conflict that arises, we're asked to journey deeper into questions of purpose, hope and futility. This is one of the most spectacular sci-fi plays I've read and I can't wait to see it produced and adapted!

    Berryman's writing is sharp, filled with unexpected twists and turns and each character's humanity shimmers throughout the play. With every nuanced complication and conflict that arises, we're asked to journey deeper into questions of purpose, hope and futility. This is one of the most spectacular sci-fi plays I've read and I can't wait to see it produced and adapted!

  • Charles Jackson: Walden

    A friend recommended Walden to me, and I am so grateful they did. A beautiful sci-fi play that explores sisterhood and our dying world. I would love to see this show at a professional theatre. I highly recommend giving it a read!

    A friend recommended Walden to me, and I am so grateful they did. A beautiful sci-fi play that explores sisterhood and our dying world. I would love to see this show at a professional theatre. I highly recommend giving it a read!

  • Matthew Ivan Bennett: Walden

    Easily one of my favorite for-the-stage sci-fi/cli-fi pieces of the past few years.

    Easily one of my favorite for-the-stage sci-fi/cli-fi pieces of the past few years.

View all 20 recommendations

Character Information

ON CASTING:
Cassie and Stella should look like sisters and be of similar builds, but they need not look
like identical twins. They look different, have different blood types, and have therefore
always assumed themselves fraternal.
  • Stella
    former NASA colony architect, her mouth moves quickly to catch up with her even faster brain, guarded, still deeply heartbroken she will never go to space, is harboring secrets and resentment as she struggles to welcome her sister into her new life.
    Character Age
    mid-thirties
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Cassie
    Stella’s twin sister – NASA botanist, physically strong, seems
    put together in the midst of all her success, but inside is doubtful and falling apart.
    Looking for a way to blow up her life, as well as looking for a way to get closer to her
    sister.
    Character Age
    mid-thirties
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Bryan
    Stella’s fiancée – a member of the populist political movement
    Earth Advocates, laid back, kind, emotionally open, strong, still grieving the loss of his
    brother, struggling with the wall Stella has built around herself.
    Character Age
    mid-thirties
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization UMASS, Year 2020
  • Type Reading, Organization Premiere Play Festival at Premiere Stages, Year 2019
  • Type Workshop, Organization Premiere Stages at Kean University, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Great Plains Theatre Conference, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Bay Street Theatre Festival, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Austin Scottish Rite Theater, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Alaska, Year 2018

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Sonia Friedman Productions, Harold Pinter Theatre, West End, Year 2021
  • Type Professional, Organization Theaterworks Hartford, Year 2021

Awards

  • Parity Commission
    Honorable Mention
    2019
  • Premiere Play Festival
    Premiere Stages at Kean University
    Runner Up
    2019
  • Henley Rose Playwright Competition for Women
    Yellow Rose Productions
    Finalist
    2019